Nine creative networks across Scotland, including Dundee’s Biome Collective, will receive a share of £120,000 from Create:Networks to support the development of sustainable creative communities.
Create:Networks 2024/25 – is a fund enabling groups, organisations and creative practitioners to build new or develop existing local creative networks as enablers for sustainable creative communities in Scotland.
Launched in June 2024, the fund invited proposals for a 12-month programme of localised activity designed to build and grow a network that will support creative practitioners and businesses in developing sustainable practices. With new networks eligible to apply for up to £10,000 and established networks able to request up to £20,000, the fund total of £120,000 was distributed to nine awardees, supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
The nine recipients represent a breadth of geography, communities and creative artforms, stretching from the south-west to the northernmost point of Scotland. Narture will launch Creative Futures, designed to link organisations, artists, and social enterprises in South Ayrshire, while the newly-formed Shetland Textiles Network will nurture new talent and assist practitioners in looking to the future while safeguarding local knowledge and processes.
Several networks will use the fund to build on existing foundations: Neuk Edinburgh allows the neurodivergent-led Neuk Collective to explore a localised programme of in-person networking, skill development and peer support. Circus Artspace will further opportunities for visual artists in the Highlands with CaraVAN through co-created activity for emergent practitioners and regional invitations to connect and collaborate. The Forth Valley Creative Network spans Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire, solidifying preliminary research into a new programme of peer-led and community-focused activities.
In the northeast, Angus Creatives will build on local provision for rural practitioners, responding to demand for further professional development and collaborative opportunities; in neighbouring Dundee, Biome Collective continue to forefront collaboration and innovation in digital creativity, with a focus on strengthening the longevity of their network as well as the practices of its participants.
In Glasgow’s southside, Network Q centre mutual-support for marginalised freelancers, with activity designed and delivered by and for their community. The city is also the base of the Universal Recognition Movement – Alba Hub, which includes members in Lanarkshire and Edinburgh, who seek to support the development of Disabled creative practitioners with a passion for accessibility and service design.
Activity from the networks is now underway, with development and programming running from mid-September until August 2025, accompanied by opportunities for those taking part to share knowledge and experiences through development sessions in October and concluding with a sharing event in summer 2025.
Jen Collins, Programmes Producer at Creative Dundee, looks ahead to connecting with the awardees:
Having grown our own Amps network since 2016, it’s wonderful to be able to support nine networks – five being new and four of which are established – through Create:Networks. Developing the fund has been a chance to reflect on how creative communities are vital enablers of mutual-support, connection and exchange. They’re collective spaces that centre collaboration over going it alone – and we’re so looking forward to doing exactly that with this brilliant cohort. Alongside each network’s programme of activity, the fund provides the opportunity for them to share learning, values and processes with peers. The ripple effects of this fund will strengthen not just the networks themselves but their places and the wider creative ecosystem, too.
Jessica Bonehill, Creative Industries Officer at Creative Scotland said:
Create:Networks is enabling vital connections for the creative businesses and freelancers that produce the creative activity our nation enjoys, strengthening and enriching their work. It’s fantastic to see the range of networks included in this year’s cohort and the range of support they offer to creative businesses across Scotland including neurodiverse and disabled creative communities, work from the Highlands and Islands to the Forth Valley, as well as across a range of art forms including textiles, writing and gaming.
The Full List Of Recipients
- Angus Creatives; Biome Collective, based in Dundee
- CaraVAN, led by Circus Artspace in the Highlands
- Creative Futures, led by narture cic in South Ayrshire
- Forth Valley Creative Network, led by Creative Stirling across Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire
- Neuk Edinburgh, led by Neuk Collective
- Network Q, led by PlutoQ in Glasgow
- Shetland Textiles Network
- Universal Recognition Movement, based in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Edinburgh.
About Create:Networks
Create:Networks is managed and delivered by Scotland’s Creative Networks, led by Creative Dundee, with support from The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
The Create:Networks open call and selection process was supported by Creative Dundee, Creative Edinburgh, DG Unlimited and freelance project manager and practitioner, Lynne Hocking.
Create:Networks 2024/25 received 94 applications, which represented a total ask of £1,242,928 – 90% beyond the total available funding of £120,000. 49 emerging and 45 established networks applied, with 26 out of 32 Local Authority areas represented across Scotland.
Enquiries about Create:Networks can be directed to Jen Collins, Programmes Producer: jen@creativedundee.com.